The present invention relates generally to the art of fully automated retractable safety syringes and more particularly to needle protection assemblies or shielding devices for syringes in order to reduce the likelihood of unintentional puncture of human beings and animals.
The present invention is an improvement over my U.S. Pat. No. 5,938,644 entitled xe2x80x9cNeedle Protection Holderxe2x80x9d, which issued Aug. 17, 1999. Specifically, the improvements are directed to the thumb latch and to the washer construction equipped with a Luer-Lock, Luer-slip male and female attachment that are standardized by the International Standards Organization and by the American Standards National Institute to fit all Luer-Lock and Luer-slip tipped syringes thereby turning the products into fully automated retractable safety syringes.
The spread of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or AIDS in the 1980""s has greatly increased the concern of health care providers over the spread of communicable diseases through accidental needle pricks or punctures. Health care personnel including nurses, doctors and other providers accidentally prick themselves with needles on an average of two or more times a year. With the increase in AIDS, the chance of a health care provider being pricked by an AIDS contaminated needle over a period of years has become quite high and of great concern not only to health care personnel but also to government officials. In addition, other severe but less deadly diseases are known, such as hepatitis, which are transmitted through contaminated needle pricks or punctures. Such punctures occur in many ways, such as a nurse tripping while carrying a used and exposed needle or even while trying to cap a used needle.
Consequently, a greater need has developed for shielding devices or protection devices for needles of syringes such that the shielding devices are effective, easy to use and require only minor modifications to allow use with conventional types of syringes of the disposable and non-disposable types. Numerous devices have been developed to reduce the risk of accidental needle pricks.
Many of these devices include a cylindrical sheath secured to the syringe which may be telescopically advanced and retracted to enclose and expose the needle of the syringe. The currently available shielding devices that provide a cylindrical sheath to telescopically encircle the needle of a syringe suffer several deficiencies or shortcomings. Many of the existing devices require an operator such as a doctor, nurse or technician to use both hands to position the protection sheath in encircling relation with the syringe needle thereby increasing the likelihood of accidental needle pricks. Thus, when the user reaches with one hand to extend the sheath of the syringe, the medical attendant accidentally sticks the free hand through carelessness, being bumped or the like.
In many of the existing devices, the protective sheaths cannot be locked in encircling relationship with the syringe needle possibly resulting in accidental needle pricks if a compressed force is inadvertently applied to the protective sheath of the syringe. In other existing devices, the protective sheath permanently locks in protective relation with the syringe needle when advanced thereto preventing immediate protection of the syringe needle where the syringe must be used more than once for a given procedure. Existing sheathing devices also tend to require major modifications to existing syringes or greatly interfere with the normal use of the syringe.
It is a feature of the present invention to provide a novel needle protection holder or assembly for various types of syringes which minimizes the likelihood of accidental puncture.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a needle protection holder for a syringe which, after utilization, isolates the used needle within the holder so as to render such needle harmless.
Still another feature of the present invention is to provide a needle protection holder or assembly for a syringe which is operable utilizing only one hand thereby permitting the other hand of the medical technician to be used for other purposes.
A still further feature of the present invention is to provide a needle protection holder or assembly for a syringe which includes a spring which is compressed during the injection of the fluid in the syringe into the patient whereafter the compressed spring is released which is effective to retract into the interior of the holder the needle to prevent its reuse.
Still another feather of the present invention is to provide a needle protection holder which is adaptable to various types of syringes including standard syringes and Luer Lock syringes, which is economical to manufacture and is efficient to use while preventing accidental punctures of humans and animals.
These as well as other features are accomplished by providing a device that encloses a syringe and needle within a tubular shell after the needle has been used. Its intended purpose is to remove the needle attached to a syringe from a patient, both human and animal, thereby containing the needle safely within its casing or housing. The needle protection holder disallows the exchange of bodily fluids caused by needle sticks or punctures. Such punctures can result in severe illness including death and such risk can be deterred by using the present invention.
A further feature of the present invention is that the needle protection holder or syringe retractor assembly can be manufactured in different sizes to fit virtually any Luer Lock, Luer-slip male and female attachments or regular point syringes on the market. Thus, the present invention will permit hospitals and clinics to select any standard brand of syringe to use with the needle protection holder of the present invention. A medical institution can use the needle protection holder along with its own brands of standard syringes, thereby preserving the institution""s ability to meet financial goals while providing employees with a safe environment and peace of mind knowing that accidental punctures have been greatly diminished or eliminated.
While the needle protection holder or syringe retractor of the present invention is intended for single usage, a medical technician could, if needed, unlock its mechanism and reuse the same syringe. This could prove useful in situations where multiple usage of a syringe is required such as in the administration of numbing or pain killing drugs to the same patient. This needle protection holder or device appears to be the first device to fit and lock onto a Luer Lock and onto a regular point syringe. A feature of the present invention is the provision of an attachment washer which is designed to connect a syringe and a needle utilizing the same method currently used to connect a syringe and a needle together. The Luer Lock and regular point syringe are two of the most common syringes currently used by hospitals and by veterinary clinics and would, therefore, provide a great deal of risk management protection. Thus, the needle protection holder or syringe retractor or device has been designed so that the medical technician can manipulate it with only one hand thereby freeing up the technicians other hand for other vital medical operations. It is well known that time can make the difference between life and death in many medical situations and can also effect the efficiency in which the medical technician cares for his or her own safety. With the present invention, virtually no time is lost in preparing the device for use; assembly takes only a matter of a few seconds to complete. Once the technician has administered the injection, the touch of the spring biased latch causes the needle to retract safely within the constraints of the tubular housing.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a needle protection holder with a novel thumb latch mounted on the cylinder, a pair of spaced apart stop pedestals are provided on the cylinder and are provided with axles below the stop pedestals. The thumb latch has an integral lip opposite the longitudinal axis of the cylinder and a pair of spaced apart arms rotatably carried by the axles whereby when the latch is rotated in one direction about the axles towards the longitudinal axis it causes the lip to engage the syringe contained in the cylinder and thereby retain and latch the syringe in place.
Still another feature of the present invention is to provide a needle protection holder wherein the thumb latch when rotated in the opposite direction away from the longitudinal axis about the axles cause the lip to disengage from the syringe and the thumb latch to move away from the cylinder in an amount limited by the engagement of the thumb latch with the stop pedestals.
A further feature of the present invention is to provide a needle protection holder wherein the thumb latch has a curved surface for a person""s thumb when operating the latch, with the lip being an integral part of the latch and being inclined downwardly towards the open end of the cylinder.
A still further feature of the present invention is to provide a needle protection holder wherein the thumb latch is provided with an integral downwardly extending spring located between the spaced apart arms, with the spring being engageable with the exterior surface of the cylinder wall and providing pressure on the thumb latch so that the locking of the syringe in the down position can take place.
A still further feature of the present invention is to provide a needle protection holder wherein the thumb latch including the arms, lip and spring are molded as an integral unit from a plastic material.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a needle protection holder where the stop pedestals are formed out of the walls of the cylinder holding the axles.
Still another feature of the present invention is to provide a needle protection holder wherein the spring is flat and of generally rectangular cross-section and glides on the exterior surface of the cylinder.
A further feature of the present invention is to provide a needle protection holder wherein the axles are aligned directly under the lip of the thumb latch.
A still further feature of the present invention is to provide a needle protection holder wherein the arms of the thumb latch are provided with openings so that the arms when pressure is applied to the arms, the openings receive the axles.
A still further feature of the present invention is to provide a needle protection holder wherein the inner edges of the arms are beveled to remove materials and thereby facilitate the mounting of the thumb latch on the axles.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a needle protection holder for a fully automated retractable safety syringe, with the holder containing a generally cylindrical washer with four circumferentially spaced apart arms provided on their outer unattached ends with radially outwardly extending protrusions or buttons. The protrusions have matching elongated channels and matching elongated openings or slots on the interior surface of the cylinder extending through the wall of the cylinder, with the protrusions, channels and elongated openings cooperating to maintain the orientation of the washer in the cylinder.
Still another feature of the present invention is to provide a needle protection holder wherein the arms of the washer are provided with first and second pairs of arms, each arm being integrally connected on one end of the washer, with the first pair of arms being located 180xc2x0 apart, with the second pair of arms being located 180xc2x0 apart, with the cylinder wall having a pair of elongated openings for receiving the outwardly extending protrusions thereby preventing the movement of the washer towards one end of the cylinder and preventing the washer and the syringe and needle from existing the cylinder when an upward thrust is applied to the washer.
A further feature of the present invention is to provide a needle protection holder wherein each of the protrusions or buttons has a top surface, a pair of side surfaces, an outer surface and a bottom surface, with the top surface being angled upwardly to facilitate the movement of the protrusion into the corresponding elongated opening in the cylinder and thereby catch and hold the washer in position in the elongated openings.
A still further feature of the present invention is to provide a needle protection holder wherein the bottom surface is inclined upwardly to permit the washer to move towards the bottom wall of the cylinder without catching in the elongated openings.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a needle protection holder wherein the elongated openings are offset from the center and the protrusions or buttons are offset from the center line of the first pair of arms.
Still another feature of the present invention is to provide a needle protection holder wherein each of the arms of the second pair has a center line, with the second arms having outwardly projecting protrusions or buttons which are symmetrically arranged on the center lines thereof, with the cylinder wall between the ends having a second pair of elongated openings for receiving the protrusions or buttons of the second arms for stopping downward movement and unlocking of the washer when required so that downward movement of the washer can occur.
Still another feature of the present invention is to provide a needle protection holder wherein the second pair of elongated openings in the cylinder wall are in the form of T-shaped slots, with the protrusions or buttons of the second pair of arms when received in the T-shaped slots preventing the washer from being pushed downwardly into the bottom of the cylinder.
A further feature of the present invention is to provide a needle protection holder wherein the cylinder is provided with a pair of elongated flexible release arms which overly the T-shaped slots, the release arms when inward pressure is applied thereto engaging the protrusions or buttons of the second pair of arms to disengage the protrusions from the T-shaped slots thereby permitting manual pressure to be applied to the syringe to move the washer, syringe and needle downwardly into the bottom of the cylinder, where the syringe is locked in the down position by the thumb latch.
Other advantages and features of the present invention shall become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment thereof, when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference characters refer to corresponding parts in the several views.
The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include an exemplary embodiment of the present invention and illustrate various features thereof.